Swimming World Championships, first medal for Italy: 4×100 bronze with Miressi, Ceccon, Zazzeri and Frigo

A day in the name of speed. That could not end without a podium. Italy at the Budapest World Cup starts again as it had started in Tokyo: with the musketeers medal. A bronze to return to the podium with the Americans and Australians. Italy silver in Tokyo with the same quartet, with Miressi, Ceccon, Zazzeri and Frigo is now bronze but with a big heart, a time of 3’10 “95 (the Italian record in Tokyo touched by 3’10” 11 ) and an excellent performance for everyone, only a little less for Miressi who self-flagellated himself in the end but in the end he knows he is happy thanks to the help of others. Starting Miressi compared to Dressel, with a change in fifth place, Thomas Ceccon and Lorenzo Zazzeri pulled out two wonderful numbers and finally Frigo confirmed himself up to the touch, mocked by Chalmers. A world medal expected from 2015 with Magnini. A past that is linked to the present: bronze Cali 1975, silver Melbourne 2007, Kazan 2015 and now Budapest, where Italy also won European golds. In short, the group coordinated by Claudio Rossetto was still up to par. We are always side by side with the two great powers and we have beaten the British and Brazilians, Canadians and Hungarians. The basin of the Duna Arena was a show.

The Musketeers speak

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Miressi says: “I’m not satisfied with my race, I talked to my coach. I made a mistake and I apologize to my teammates, we could also have ended up on the top step of the podium.” Ceccon is of a different opinion: “We have reconfirmed ourselves as a solid group, back on the podium. From silver to bronze compared to Tokyo, but we confirm ourselves as four relay runners who can also annoy America. Okay”. Zazzeri adds: “A bronze medal at the World Championships is never to be thrown away, on the contrary. The important thing was to give continuity to what we have been doing in recent years. Mire must not apologize for the performance he swam, as I told him later the race, even if it was distorted, he did it to try to do a race. I liked his approach. He snatched the first 50, it is not his characteristic, the determination is there, the group is strong, and it was important to stay on the podium. All in all, the 4 of us complement each other. ” Finally Frigo: “It’s always nice to get on the podium at a World Championship. We hoped for a little better. Mire did his, he could do better, he could be an incentive to do better in his race. We tried to give our best and it went well “.

De Tullio fifth

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Marco De Tullio tries, fights, defends third place for 350 meters, but closes the 400 sl in fifth place like three years ago in Gwangju, where Gabriele Detti took the bronze bis. In a final made very fast in the central lanes (the blue was at 8 last qualified) by the Australian Elijah Winnington (under the record of his compatriot Biedermann from the top 50) and by the emerging German Lukas Martens, the twenty-year-old from Puglia passes in 1 ‘ 50 “86 in the middle, he is judicious in his tactics but in the last lap he is held back by the leap that would have brought him to the podium. De Tullio improves his personnel from 3’44” 47 to 3’44 “14 and Italy confirms having found a great fifteenth-century player who is now followed by Christian Minotti at the Aniene after being led to success by Stefano Morini in Ostia. The Australian triumphs in 3’41 “22, eighth performance of all time, the silver of the German is at 3’42 “85, the bronze of the Brazilian Guillherme Costa at 3’43” 31. The South American is coached by a great friend of the “Moro”, Kafu who worked for a month in recent years in Ostia and then invited the Livorno coach to Rio. For the world podium it took 3’43 “. The head of world sport Thomas Bach was rewarded for this race. De Tullio says:” A shame because I didn’t see anything, then the energies are what they are. I’m happy to be even better, too bad for that 3’43 “that never comes. I didn’t feel 100% today. I got that extra boost because it was a world final. But I’m happy, the podium will be for another time. My parents are there, I was interested in them. It is the first time they have come to an international competition. There are other races to do. It is good to rest, there is 200 and the relay “.

What a Ceccon

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Another fantastic ex aequo for Thomas Ceccon with Caeleb Dressel: in the 50 butterfly, the Vicenza-born again files the Italian record taking it from 22 “88 to 22” 79, second time in the semifinals together with the American and behind only 22 “76 of the British Ben Proud: 3 cents from gold … We’ll see tomorrow, also because Thomas will also have a 100 backstroke. Elena Di Liddo comes out of the 100 butterfly semifinals picking up a 58 “44 (27” 19 to 50 meters) while the last finalist is Farida Osman, an Egyptian stationed in the US. The Apulian was fourth in 2019 and is the Italian record holder in 57 “04, in the battery she swam 57” 97.

Martinenghi launched

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Magnifico Martinenghi: in the 100 frog he warns the world, he wants gold and can win gold. He has to believe it tomorrow night against Nic Fink and Arno Kamming. Tete swims in 58 “46 and only concedes the first lap to the American in terms of speed. The man from Varese says:” In my mind I have never made such a fast time with this (little) effort. I’m happy. I didn’t want to overdo it, in the last 5 meters I adjusted the stroke, I made one more. The idea was not to give signals, everyone does the race for himself. My goal was not to work too hard. 58 ”4 very good. We will see tomorrow. A good first day. Now let’s see the others. “

Semper Katie

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The 400 sl women are by Katie Ledecky, who was waiting in Budapest for her Australian rival Ariarne Titmus who a month ago broke the world record in 3’56 “40, but preferred to avoid confrontation. So in an attempt to get it back, the American ends up improving only the record of the championships, moreover on her time since Budapest 2017. Katie was good to triumph in 3’58 “15 because the phenomenal Summer McIntosh was there to follow her, close to the lane and dangerous with her verve from fifteen, able to touch silver in 3’59 “39, while the expert Leah Smith in 4’02” 08 denied the bronze to the little Australian Lani Pallister by 8 cents. For Ledecky it is her 16th world title in her career. The Canadian baby becomes the fourth woman in the world to have broken the wall of 4 minutes after Pellegrini (who was the first in 2009 in 3’59 “15), Ledecky and Titmus. Finally, she impresses Leon Marchand, twenty years old, French who trains with Bob Bowman, who shook up to 375 meters the legendary Michael Phelps record of 4’03 “84 set in Beijing 2008. The transalpine swam his second alltime performance in 4’04” 28.